43
Light shines through a so-called media blackout
YOUNGSTOWN
An Aug. 21 memo obtained by The Vindicator and addressed to Youngstown State University’s negotiation team alleges the faculty union has violated a news blackout.
The memo, also addressed to YSU administrative council members and department chairmen, criticizes a “misleading article” in The Vindicator and calls leaked details “wholly inaccurate or very slanted in favor of the union.”
The Vindicator has cited sources – who are in a position to know the details of the negotiations – in published articles Aug. 3 and 19, in which sources called a faculty strike threat “imminent.”
The administration memo specifically cites five pieces of contrary information reported in The Vindicator’s Aug. 19 story.
The Vindicator reported the administration’s proposed contract did not include increases in minimum salaries and included a 1 percent increase each year based on an email sent by the union crisis and communications committees and addressed to union members.
But Monday’s administration memo states: “The administration’s wage proposal calls for a 1 percent salary increase in year one, and a 1.75 percent total increase in each of years two and three (which includes a merit and retention pool in years two and three). On Friday, however, the administration increased that offer, presenting a significant and meaningful additional wage proposal.”
The memo also states that the proposal was rejected Friday by the union bargaining team.
YSU has the lowest-paid faculty at a public university in Ohio, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The average salary of an assistant professor at a public university in Ohio is $70,000, and YSU’s average is $60,800. The average salary of a full professor at a public university in Ohio is $107,900, and YSU’s average is $88,200.
Another concern the memo expresses is about health insurance contributions.
In the Aug. 19 story, The Vindicator reported faculty members will have to increase their health insurance contributions.
However, the administration memo says 70 percent of faculty would receive increased take-home pay due to the proposal of a flat 15 percent premium contribution rate, rather than the current sliding scale.
The Vindicator’s Aug. 19 story also cited a complaint that the administration had proposed removing course-load limits, which could significantly affect workload and faculty dismissal without due process.
The administration memo countered: “The administration’s proposal fully maintains the faculty’s ability to grieve and arbitrate faculty disciplinary actions; it does not in any way violate faculty’s due process rights. [And]ÔÇ∑ The administration’s proposal on workload is consistent with state law and is not intended to change in any way the number of hours worked or classes taught.”
The final discrepancy cited in the memo directly counters information cited in The Vindicator’s Aug. 19 story alleging the fact-finding process is complete and there will be a voice vote today to give the union the power to authorize a strike.
The authorization gives the union the option to call for a 10-day strike notice. Union members would discuss and vote on a strike at a subsequent meeting.
The memo states the process is not, in fact, complete and “the faculty union leadership’s talk of a strike is premature. ... Regardless of the union’s actions, fall semester classes will begin as scheduled on Wednesday.”
Citing the news blackout, YSU officials refused to discuss the memo when contacted by The Vindicator.